Canada’s Leylah Fernandez staged an impressive comeback to vanquish France’s Elsa Jacquemot 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the women’s singles second-round clash at the U.S. Open in New York. Fernandez, seeded 31st and the 2021 runner-up, struggled in the initial set, winning just one service game and securing 42% of first-serve points.
The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., found her momentum in the subsequent sets, maintaining her serve throughout while breaking Jacquemot three times to clinch victory in a match lasting two hours and 16 minutes. Fernandez had a smooth start in the first round with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win against Rebecca Marino from Vancouver.
Next, Fernandez is set to face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round on Friday. Sabalenka triumphed over Polina Kudermetova with a 7-6 (4), 6-2 win later on Wednesday. Notably, Fernandez had previously upset Sabalenka in a three-set battle to reach the 2021 U.S. Open final.
Furthermore, Fernandez is teaming up with tennis icon Venus Williams in the women’s doubles event. Williams, a 45-year-old with seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 major doubles championships, returned to professional tennis in July after a 16-month hiatus and will partner with Fernandez as a wild card entry, facing the sixth-seeded duo of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez in their opening match on Thursday.
In other U.S. Open action, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, the third-seeded women’s doubles pair, are set to compete against the Czech duo of Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Skoch. On the men’s side, Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Gabriel Diallo, all from Canada, are scheduled to play their second-round matches. Shapovalov, seeded 27th, will go up against Valentin Royer of France, Auger-Alissime (seeded 25th) will face Roman Safiullin of Russia, and Diallo (seeded 31st) will meet Spain’s Jaume Munar.
Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, overcame a slow start to defeat American qualifier Zachary Svajda in four sets at the U.S. Open. Djokovic, who has a flawless record of 36-0 in the first and second rounds at Flushing Meadows, expressed frustration with his performance despite progressing to the third round. Djokovic will face Cam Norrie next, a British player who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2022 and is yet to secure a victory against Djokovic in their previous encounters.
Additionally, a range of other players, including past U.S. Open champions and top seeds, are set to compete on Thursday at the tournament.